A man has managed to power his home for eight years with a system using more than 1,000 recycled laptop batteries. This ingenious project, based on the use of electronic waste, has proven to be an environmentally friendly and economical solution, without the need to even replace batteries over the years.
This system also uses solar panels, which were the origin of his renewable energy project that he started a long time ago and which has been enough for him to live during this time.
The project began in November 2016, when the creator, known with the alias Glubux on online forums, began sharing his plans in the Second Life Storage community. From the outset, his goal was clear: to generate energy for his home without relying on the electrical grid, through a combination of solar panels and recycled batteries.
In its early stages, it used a basic 1.4 kW solar panel system, along with an old 24V 460Ah forklift battery, charge controllers, and a 3 kVA inverter. However, its vision was to expand the system and take it beyond what it had initially achieved.
The centerpiece of their system is more than 1,000 secondhand laptop batteries. For many, old computer batteries are considered waste, but for Glubux, they represented an opportunity to create a completely independent as well as renewable energy source.
Reusing these batteries is a great idea and is an example of how it’s possible to give a second life to electronic waste, a sector in which the UN has noted that less than a quarter of the e-waste generated globally is properly collected and recycled.
The system was initially modest, but over time, Glubux began adding more and more recycled batteries. Soon, his installation grew from a small setup to a self-powered system consisting of 650 batteries.
This growth forced the creator to build a separate warehouse, located about 50 meters from his home, to store the batteries and the new charge controllers and inverters. The warehouse became a workshop where he assembled the battery packs, grouping them together to create blocks with a capacity of approximately 100 Ah each.
At first, he faced some obstacles. The battery discharge rates were uneven due to differences in the battery cells used, causing some to drain faster than others. However, the solution came with rearranging and adjusting the cells to ensure the packs worked more efficiently.
Glubux even began disassembling entire laptop batteries, removing individual cells and organizing them into custom racks. This task, which likely required a great deal of manual labor and technical knowledge, was key to making the system work effectively and sustainably.
The most amazing thing about this project is that, despite the initial difficulties and the experimental nature of the system, it has continued to operate uninterruptedly today. In its eight years of operation, not a single battery cell has needed to be replaced, a remarkable achievement considering the operating conditions and the nature of the recycled batteries.
In addition, over the years, Glubux has improved and expanded its solar panel system. Currently, its installation features 24 solar panels, each measuring 440W, allowing it to generate sufficient power even during the coldest months.
Despite being an unusual system, with recycled and homemade components, no major problems have been reported, such as fires or swollen batteries, which is a common issue with some second-hand electronic devices.
Glubux, for its part, continues to operate with complete confidence in its installation, which has not only been able to supply all of its home’s electricity, but also allows the operation of equipment such as the washing machine.
